As we gather across America for Memorial Day 2025, we pause not simply for a day off, but to reflect on the profound sacrifice made by generations of men and women in uniform. Memorial Day is a time to remember those who laid down their lives in service to the United States—those who, in the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, gave their “last full measure of devotion.”

Remembering Our Fallen Heroes

Memorial Day began in the aftermath of the Civil War, originally known as Decoration Day. Americans would visit cemeteries to decorate the graves of soldiers with flowers, honoring those who had died to preserve the Union. Over the years, the observance expanded to include all U.S. military personnel who died in service.

Memorial Day 2025 marks more than 150 years since this tradition began. Today, it stands as a national moment of unity, remembrance, and gratitude. From the Revolutionary War to recent conflicts, the price of liberty has been paid by brave individuals who believed in the ideals of freedom and democracy.

We honor not just soldiers, but sons and daughters, parents and siblings, friends and neighbors—real people whose stories are woven into the fabric of our nation. Their courage demands not only our respect, but also our remembrance.

The Meaning Behind the Phrase “Last Full Measure of Devotion”

Few phrases better capture the spirit of Memorial Day than Lincoln’s words from the Gettysburg Address. Delivered on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, his speech lasted just over two minutes—but it has echoed through American history ever since.

It is fitting to revisit the full text this Memorial Day 2025, as a tribute to those we honor:

The Gettysburg Address

By Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Acts of Remembrance on Memorial Day 2025

Across the country this Memorial Day 2025, Americans will gather to honor the fallen. Flags will be flown at half-staff until noon. Gravesites will be visited, adorned with flowers and flags. Families will attend ceremonies at national cemeteries, local memorials, and veteran halls. The playing of Taps will ring out in solemn tribute.

At 3:00 p.m. local time, many will join in the National Moment of Remembrance—a simple pause to reflect on the lives sacrificed and the freedoms preserved.

If you are seeking meaningful ways to participate:

• Attend a local or virtual Memorial Day ceremony.
• Visit the grave of a fallen service member and leave a flag or flower.
• Volunteer with a veterans’ organization.
• Share the Gettysburg Address with your children or grandchildren.
• Take a moment of silence during your day to remember those lost.

Keeping the Legacy Alive

Let us commit ourselves on Memorial Day 2025 to live lives worthy of the sacrifices made on our behalf. As we enjoy the freedoms they protected, may we never forget the cost at which they came.

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This Memorial Day 2025 message was both written and optimized by Keith Klein of OnYourMark.com LLC for our friend, client, and partner Mark Mullarky, CEO of Great Lakes Tech Services, with an AI assist via ChatGPT.  Please feel free to use this Memorial Day 2025 blog yourself, with or without the image, with your own modifications, and with attribution via a live link to https://www.GreatLakesTS.com/